"Easing into the finish chute in his Team USA jersey, Hesch stopped a foot away from the finish line, laid down on his stomach on the road, took a whiff of the asphalt centimeters from his nose and performed five push-ups, a pre-victory celebration.

"With Lemma sprinting toward him, Hesch smiled and got back on his feet. He broke the finishing tape with his hands above his head."

What a fucking wand.

"Hesch maintains that he never raced on EPO but used it to recover from injuries."

Oh that's OK then. No advantage gained there at all then. Cock.

This is interesting though. Is there an in-betweeny level of competition where pricks like this think they will get away with doping? I don't know much about the running scene in the States but are there enough low/mid level races with nice prize pots that you can cherry-pick with little chance of being tested? And is it therefore much more prevalent at the sub-elite level than I would've previously thought?

Incidentally, if there are any steroids still in my system, it was from the spray I was using last week for my ear infection. Honest!

doping is there in a lot of amateur sports as participants think it's the quick fix for glory. there are loads of stories around of young decent rugby players taking steroids to bulk up - often with negative effects sadly as they overbulk/lose their speed/get side effects. have seen this with my own eyes at my last club - not condoned by the club I hasten to add - but a young lad who went off for a couple of years and came back all bulked up and he admitted to steroid use. didn't improve him as a player though

Previously bookmarked threads are now visible in "Followed Threads". You can also manage notifications on these threads from the "Forum Settings" section of your profile settings page to prevent being sent an email when a reply is made.

Runner's World is a publication of Hearst Magazines UK which is the trading name of The National Magazine Company Ltd, 72 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9EP. Registered in England 112955. All rights reserved. Runner's World, Part of the Hearst UK wellbeing network